Mustang Installer Case Study

ARP – What interested you about the seamless gutter installation business?

Andrew – I love doing DIY and first found out about seamless gutters when I lived in the states and needed to replace my guttering. I hadn’t even heard of Seamless; I was told you call a seamless guy and he comes out with a van and replaces your gutters.

So when he turned up at the house and the gutter started coming out the back of a van, it just got my interest straight away and I wanted to check the machine out and see how it worked. It was the lightbulb moment for me. It’s so forward thinking and way ahead of its time.

ARP – How did you find out about ARP and our seamless offering?

Andrew – Online, I did research for my business, a lot of it was finding suppliers of Seamless Gutter machines and ARP popped up.

ARP – What are the benefits of you owning your own IronMan gutter forming machine?

Andrew – I’m fully in control of my stock and my work, I am never waiting for anything from other people.

Having the machine right there, it’s been very advantageous, if I’ve gone to a job and they have said could I do it there and then, sometimes I can.

I don’t have to travel to get a cut and drop service

ARP – What are the benefits to your customers of having a seamless gutter machine?

Andrew – With the machine not coming from the UK, a lot of people haven’t heard about Seamless gutters and haven’t seen a machine like it. Also, colour choices can change on the day, so you can turn the coil round and change colours, with no delay and no further expense – keeps everything simple and easy – customers really appreciate it.

ARP – You have succeeded in building your business from scratch, what is the best tip you have been given about growing your business?

Andrew – My mum gave me the best piece of advice “don’t grow too fast, too soon – it’s a recipe for disaster”. All of my family run their own businesses, and in a wide range of disciplines, we have travel agents, a florist, pet shops, wet fish, fruit and veg shops, chocolate, etc., I was a bit of a late starter.

ARP – What would your advice be to anyone thinking about how to start a seamless aluminium gutter business?

Andrew – Do your research and make the customer the number one priority in every way.
The only thing that might not have made it work was the demand, but everyone has a house, every house has gutters, so for me it was a simple calculation, all I’ve got to do is make people knowledgeable about the product, try and get myself established and out there which just takes time. It’s a fantastic system, even an engineer, a client of mine, who worked at Rolls Royce for years agrees.

So, to sum up – do your research, treat your customers correctly and charge a fair price.

ARP – What would you say to someone who says they would prefer a plastic guttering system?

Andrew – I don’t deal with plastic! – I would hope that they would already know that I only fit aluminium systems.

If they know what seamless is, a counter argument would be the environmentally friendly element, recycling over and over again, that’s why soft drinks companies use aluminium cans, because it lasts, can be recycled over and over and the quality is there and people are moving away from plastic big time, its becoming a toxic word these days, with the issues of plastic pollution in our oceans.
Also, aluminium seamless gutters, takes away all the bad experiences that you get with plastic, like cracking, brittleness, fading, leaking, so all those bad experiences you get with plastic, you don’t get with seamless.

I try and give good sound advice – I am flexible and try and work with my customers timings.
Once you tell them the benefits, once it’s up, it will outlast you and possible your kids.

ARP – Describe your favourite part of the job?

Andrew – Pressing the start button on the machine and watching the machine do its job – it never gets old – I love the technology and the machinery.

I am so glad I went with the smart machine, which enables me to enter the length of gutter required without having to measure it – it is so easy.

ARP – Do you offer any guarantees?

Andrew – Yep – I always say to my customers, if there are any problems, give me a call and I will sort it out. There is no time limit on that.

I have every faith in the product – there’s nothing going to corrode or crack and everything that I’ve done, I know that its perfect, I know that if they ever call me is to do with something else that has happened. One customer called the day after I’d installed it the scaffolding came down and they dinted it.

I always do a walk round with my customer before I leave, so they know it’s perfect and anything that happens to the gutters, has happened after I’ve left.

Thank you, Andrew from Scunthorpe Seamless Gutters, for your time. We wish you continued success with your gutter forming business.

Click to read more from Invest In North Lincolnshire where Andrew’s business is featured.